Columbia, here I come!

I recently learned that one of America’s eight Ivy League universities, Columbia University, is located right here in Manhattan! Perhaps this is obvious to everyone else, but it was news to me. It’s full name is actually, Columbia University in the City of New York.

So on Friday I embarked on a little adventure to find out what this Ivy League nonsense was all about. Unfortunately, I misread the subway map and instead of taking a leisurely air-conditioned ride to the campus, I ended up walking more than 75 blocks in full sun and 33 degree heat! Eeek – it wasn’t my finest hour.

Still, the walk gave me a chance to check out Riverside Drive (where Will and Grace live), Riverside Park (which is highly overrated), Grant’s Tomb (highly underrated), and Riverside Church (best described as a big building) on the way there.

The free campus tour was outstanding and along the way I learned that:

• Columbia has the third largest underground tunnel system in the world after the Kremlin and MIT
• When a decision was made to relocate the library, all of the books were transported through the tunnels to prevent exposure to the elements
• The tunnels were used during a successful student protest and sit-in to seize control of the buildings and keep the students well fed with pizza. After this event the tunnels were closed up
• Dewey, of the Dewey decimal system was a Columbia grad
• Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States, was previously President of Columbia
• The laser and FM radio were developed at Columbia, and the first atom was split here as part of the Manhattan Project
• Scenes from Ghostbusters were filmed here and the ongoing royalties keep the grass (pictured) in tip top condition. It is ripped up and replaced every year, whether it’s needed or not, since that’s what the royalties are legallly allocated to pay for
• Class sizes, even in first year, are restricted to about 20 students
• The campus has only one large lecture theatre and it has been used in many films including Spiderman 2
• Columbia promotes itself as the University for the real world (though they haven’t struck upon that awesome catchphrase yet) with a distinguished faculty of experienced professionals
• Tuition, fees and books are about $33,000 US a year, or $43,000 if you include room and board.

  I think that studying in a US university would have been an awesome experience. In addition to a more rounded program including philosophy, literature etc in the first year, students get the experience of living on campus and being part of a university’s very specific culture.

  Incidentally, what is this Ivy League business all about? Opinions abound but according to the tour guide, eight of the oldest universities in the US got together and decided not to offer sporting scholarships in order to distinguish themselves as more scholarly institutions.